Kings Notes: Sabonis, Mitchell, Vezenkov, Draft
Kings star Domantas Sabonis told Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter video link) on Thursday that he was about to get another scan on his right thumb to assess how his avulsion fracture has healed following treatment. While there’s hope that Sabonis will be able to avoid undergoing surgery on the thumb this offseason, that possibility hasn’t yet been ruled out, according to the big man.
Asked about whether or not he’ll be able to play for Lithuania in this year’s World Cup, Sabonis said it will depend on the results of his latest scan and the treatment plan for his thumb going forward.
Here’s more on the Kings:
- Kings guard Davion Mitchell has new representation, having made the move from CAA to Octagon Basketball — Octagon posted a tweet welcoming Mitchell to the agency. The former lottery pick will be extension-eligible during the 2024 offseason and would become a restricted free agent in 2025 if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
- Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee takes a closer look at the Kings’ potential next steps with EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov, whose NBA rights are controlled by Sacramento. According to Anderson, the team’s offer for the 27-year-old will likely start in the neighborhood of $3-4MM. That would be roughly equivalent to the first-year salary for a player drafted between Nos. 15-21 in 2023.
- In a separate story for The Sacramento Bee, Anderson examines a few prospects who could be targets for the Kings at No. 24 in this month’s draft. As Anderson notes, general manager Monte McNair has a track record of selecting older college players with Sacramento’s first-round picks, so forwards like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kris Murray (Keegan Murray‘s twin brother) could be on the team’s radar.
- In case you missed it, Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez is believed to be one of the finalists in the Raptors’ head coaching search. Toronto is expected to make a decision is relatively soon.
And-Ones: Free Agency, Parity, RSNs, Finals Matchup
NBA executives who spoke to Alex Kennedy of Heavy.com are split on how they feel about the 2023 free agent class. While one Eastern Conference exec referred to it as “very weak,” an East general manager suggested there should be a “strong group of rotational pieces” available this offseason. That GM added that we shouldn’t necessarily expect future free agent classes to be stronger than this year’s.
“This free agent class is a reflection of what future classes could look like with the new extension rules,” he said. “There will likely be even more extensions done moving forward with the new rules, which will water down the free agent classes.”
In a separate article for Heavy.com, Kennedy ranks the top free agents of 2023, while over at The Athletic, Danny Leroux considers which free agent will receive the most guaranteed money this summer. As Leroux observes, many of this year’s best potential FAs many not sign lucrative long-term contracts due to concerns about their age and/or injury histories. That group includes James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and Khris Middleton.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Frank Urbina of HoopsHype takes a look at a few free-agents-to-be whose playoff performances negatively affected their stock, including Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Nets guard Seth Curry, and Lakers teammates D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley.
- His comments about Ja Morant made the most headlines, but commissioner Adam Silver also discussed multiple other topics during his press conference prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. Silver spoke in support of the increased parity the NBA has seen in recent years (link via RealGM) and referred to the ongoing issues with regional sports networks as “a problem we have to fix” (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).
- A series between the Nuggets and Heat may not have been the Finals matchup that league advertisers fantasized about, but it’s great for the NBA, contends Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. As Krawczynski writes, Denver and Miami have been the two “best, most determined and precise teams” in the playoffs and will allow the league to “embrace the game over the glitz” in the Finals.
- David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the Nuggets‘ and Heat‘s success this spring is proof that being patient – rather than reactionary – following postseason heartbreak can pay off in the long run.
Lakers Notes: D-Lo, Kyrie, Walker, Reaves, Harrison, Beasley, Bamba, Draft
In a conversation on the HoopsHype podcast about the Lakers‘ free agency situation, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he still believes a new deal with Los Angeles is the most likely outcome for D’Angelo Russell, though if it’s far from a lock.
A previous report stated that Russell was hoping for a four-year, $100MM contract before being traded from Minnesota to L.A. Given that he had an up-and-down postseason and there aren’t a ton of obvious suitors for his services this offseason, Russell may be hard-pressed to get four years or $25MM annually, Buha observes, suggesting that a two- or three-year deal, perhaps around $20MM per year, might be more realistic.
While the Lakers may also explore the sign-and-trade market for Russell, neither Buha nor Scotto views Kyrie Irving as a serious option for the club, even though Scotto has heard there’s no truth to the idea that Irving and the Mavericks have a “handshake” deal in place. Buha suggests it’s hard to imagine the Lakers making a compelling offer for Irving that Dallas would accept.
Elsewhere on the free agency front, Buha and Scotto agree that Lonnie Walker could get offers in the $4-7MM range and might seek a larger role with a new team.
As for Austin Reaves, Buha continues to hear that the Lakers will match any offer sheet for the guard, but he names the Spurs as a possible “dark horse” suitor for Reaves, while Scotto identifies the Rockets and Magic as two other cap-room teams who could have interest in testing the Lakers’ limits.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Buha says that Shaquille Harrison is expected to be waived this offseason and adds there are doubts about whether Malik Beasley ($16.5MM team option) and Mohamed Bamba ($10.3MM) will be retained. Beasley and Bamba would be on expiring deals and might be useful salary-matching pieces in trades, but they’re not bargains on their current contracts and could be cut loose to help accommodate new deals for free agents like Reaves, Russell, and Rui Hachimura.
- The Lakers are more likely than not to hang onto the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, sources tell Buha within that same mailbag. That might change if the team is able to use the pick as part of a trade package to land a starting-caliber player, Buha notes.
- None are likely to receive consideration as early as No. 17, but the Lakers hosted six prospects for a pre-draft workout on Friday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link): Nadir Hifi (France), Jalen Wilson (Kansas), Morris Udeze (New Mexico), Cameron Shelton (Loyola Marymount), Terquavion Smith (NC State), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky).
Coaching Rumors: Raptors, Suns, Fizdale, Jack, Pistons, Jazz
The Raptors are now the only NBA team conducting an active head coaching search and shouldn’t face any real competition for any targets on their wish list. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll be content to have their search drag on for a few more weeks.
According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), the Raptors have scheduled their final round of interviews for this weekend and are expected to make a decision soon on Nick Nurse‘s replacement.
While specific groups of finalists were reported for certain head coaching searches in recent weeks, the Raptors have been pretty tight-lipped throughout their process, so we don’t have a clear picture of which candidates remain in the mix.
Lewenberg confirms that Sergio Scariolo is believed to be a finalist, as previously reported, and says Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez seems to still be in the running too. A separate report this week indicated that the Raptors also continue to consider Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic, but there may well be other finalists besides those three men.
Here are a few more coaching-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Plugged-in local reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) identifies veteran coach David Fizdale as a prime candidate to watch for one of the top spots on Frank Vogel‘s new Suns coaching staff.
- Former NBA point guard Jarrett Jack, who was an assistant under Monty Williams with the Suns for the last two seasons, is believed to be a “priority” for Williams’ new staff with the Pistons, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
- Former Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski will take over as the head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The team issued a press release officially confirming the hiring. Former Stars head coach Scott Morrison will take a spot on Will Hardy‘s staff in Utah next season, as previously reported.
Central Notes: M. Williams, Pistons, Bucks, Pacers
If Monty Williams hadn’t accepted an extremely lucrative offer to become the Pistons‘ new head coach, the team likely would’ve ended up deciding between Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee. According to reporting from Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic and Omari Sankofa of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required), the Pistons met again with Ollie last Thursday and Lee on Friday before convening on Saturday to discuss their options.
Team sources who spoke to The Athletic said that both Ollie and Lee impressed the franchise “in different ways,” but the Pistons decided to circle back to Williams once more after he had rebuffed their initial advances.
Following Saturday’s meeting between Pistons ownership and management, team owner Tom Gores sent a private plane to pick up Williams in Phoenix on Sunday and flew him to Gores’ home in California. One day later, on Memorial Day, the Pistons made a formal offer to Williams, who agreed to the “fundamentals of the terms” but took a couple more days to weigh his decision before deciding on Wednesday to accept Detroit’s offer.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic takes a look at what the Pistons are getting in Williams, writing that the veteran coach will demand accountability in Detroit and is capable of building and nurturing a positive culture like he did in Phoenix.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- There’s plenty to like about the Bucks‘ decision to hire Adrian Griffin as their new head coach, according to Lori Nickel of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who views Griffin’s extensive and varied experience as both a player and a coach as a good sign that he’ll be able to connect with players of all skill levels and backgrounds.
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Eric Nehm considers the Bucks‘ next moves with Khris Middleton (player option for 2023/24) and Brook Lopez (UFA). As Nehm points out, Milwaukee’s cap situation would make it difficult to find suitable replacements for Middleton and/or Lopez if they’re not brought back, but the team may still have some leverage in contract talks with the duo if cap-room teams don’t prioritize the Bucks’ vets.
- Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star breaks down the pros and cons of some of the players who could be available for the Pacers with the No. 7 overall pick, including Cam Whitmore, Ausar Thompson, Taylor Hendricks, and Anthony Black.
- After wrapping up his college career at Iowa this spring, Connor McCaffery – the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery – is taking what he refers to as an “entry-level” job with the Pacers, per Chad Leistikow of The Des Moines Register. “I’ll play dummy defense, run the scout team, help coaches on film stuff, help on video projects if they need, scouting reports if they need,” the 24-year-old said. “It’s kind of all-hands on deck, whatever you’re asked to do, be ready to do it.”
Sixers’ Danuel House Picks Up 2023/24 Player Option
Sixers wing Danuel House has exercised his player option for 2023/24, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). House, whose $4,310,250 salary for next season becomes guaranteed, is now on track to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 rather than this offseason.
House, who will turn 30 next Wednesday, signed a two-year, $8.4MM contract with Philadelphia last summer using the team’s bi-annual exception.
A career 36.6% three-point shooter entering the season, House was expected to be part of the Sixers’ regular rotation as a three-and-D contributor. However, his minutes were inconsistent during his first year in Philadelphia.
House finished the season having averaged 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in just 14.4 minutes per game across 56 regular season appearances, with his three-point percentage dipping to 33.6%. He didn’t have a role in the postseason, logging only 42 minutes across seven contests.
House’s opt-in brings the Sixers’ total guaranteed salary for 2023/24 to approximately $115MM. That number – which would increase to just over $124MM if De’Anthony Melton‘s salary is fully guaranteed and Montrezl Harrell also exercises his player option – doesn’t include salaries for notable free agents such as Paul Reed, Jalen McDaniels, and, of course, James Harden.
As our tracker shows, House is the second veteran to formally exercise a player option this offseason, joining Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr.
Wizards Notes: Schlenk, GM, Winger, Offseason, Richman
Having reached an agreement to join the Wizards as the team’s senior VP of player personnel, Travis Schlenk will oversee Washington’s player evaluation work at all levels (amateur, international, and professional), according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who says scouts will report to Schlenk.
While new team president Michael Winger will have the final word on personnel moves, Schlenk’s input will carry “significant weight,” writes Robbins, as will that of the executive that the Wizards eventually hire in a general manager-type role. Winger hasn’t offered that position to anyone yet, sources tell The Athletic.
As Robbins explains, Winger’s previous work has focused less on player evaluation and more on bigger-picture roster construction and strategy, as well as navigating the CBA and salary cap, so he wants to ensure he’s surrounded by strong player evaluators in Washington’s new-look front office.
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- According to Marc Stein at Substack, the word in league circles is that the Wizards offered Winger an annual salary in the neighborhood of $9MM to lure him away from the Clippers to become the new head of basketball operations in D.C.
- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington lists five major decisions Winger will have to make within his first few months on the job, starting with hiring a general manager. The Wizards’ new president will also have to determine whether or not to keep the team’s “big three” (Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma) intact and figure out whether or not to sign Deni Avdija to an extension this offseason.
- Assistant coach Ryan Richman is leaving the Wizards and taking a job as the head coach of the Seahorses Mikawa, a Japanese team, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Pelicans Notes: Valanciunas, Draft Picks, Injuries, Nelson
Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas is entering the final year of his current contract with the club and will be eligible to sign an extension this summer. It remains to be seen whether New Orleans views the veteran big man as part of the team’s future, but Valanciunas tells Kestas Rimkus of 24sek.lt (hat tip to BasketNews.com) that he’d be interested in working out a new deal to stay with the Pelicans.
“We had some talks with (the Pelicans). I think this summer won’t be easy for them because they will have to make a few key decisions. Our season didn’t go as planned, so there will definitely be changes,” Valanciunas said. “… I would like to stay and extend my contract. Obviously, during the season, you try to help the team as much as possible, but when the summer comes, you try to take care of your own things – how to extend the contract and stuff.”
Valanciunas, who will earn approximately $15.4MM in 2023/24, started all 79 games he played for New Orleans in ’22/23. However, head coach Willie Green frequently opted to use Larry Nance Jr. at center during crunch-time minutes in the second half of the season, raising questions about Valanciunas’ role going forward.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Christian Clark of NOLA.com takes a closer look at the first-round picks the Pelicans control in the coming years, observing that the team will be keeping a close eye on the Lakers and Bucks, since those teams still owe New Orleans draft assets from the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades. The Pelicans control the Lakers’ 2024 first-rounder but have the option of acquiring the team’s 2025 pick instead — if LeBron James opts out of his deal with L.A. in 2024, deferring that first-rounder could be an intriguing option, Clark notes.
- After another season affected by injuries, the Pelicans will restructure their player care and performance team, sources tell Clark. Star forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram missed more games (90) than they played (74) in 2022/23.
- Hiring Aaron Nelson away from Phoenix to run the club’s player care and performance department was one of David Griffin‘s first moves when he joined the Pelicans in 2019, according to Clark, who notes that Nelson “did not come cheaply” and that the team approved several of his requested changes to the practice facility. However, Nelson may not be back with the Pels at all next season — if he is, it won’t be in the same role, Clark writes. As Clark details, there have been complaints during Nelson’s tenure about his inflexibility, and he clashed with Williamson and former head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Poll: Which Team Will Win 2023 NBA Finals?
The 2023 NBA Finals, which tip off on Thursday night, will pit the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference against the No. 8 seed in the East, but the matchup may not be as lopsided as their places in the standings suggest.
Despite finishing the regular season as the West’s top team, the Nuggets weren’t considered a powerhouse entering the playoffs. They lost 10 of 17 games down the stretch in March and April and had only the sixth-best net rating in the NBA (+3.3) during the season. They also didn’t have a recent history of deep playoff runs, coming off a first-round elimination in 2022 and having made it beyond the second round just once in the Nikola Jokic era.
Denver has been the most dominant team of the postseason though, winning 12 of 15 games and posting a playoff-best +8.0 net rating during a run that saw them eliminate stars like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards.
The Heat, meanwhile, battled injuries and inconsistency all season long, winning just 44 games and losing their first play-in game (to Atlanta) before completing a comeback victory over Chicago to claim the East’s final postseason berth. An early playoff exit appeared likely at that point, especially after sharpshooter Tyler Herro broke his hand in Game 1 of round one.
Instead, the Heat knocked off the title-favorite Bucks in five games, dispatched the Knicks in six games, and held off the No. 2 Celtics in a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals. Miami, whose +4.6 postseason net rating is second among all playoff clubs, has looked more like the team that came within one basket of making the NBA Finals in 2022 than the one that endured an up-and-down regular season.
The Heat may be a No. 8 seed – only the second in NBA history to make the Finals – but this is a battle-tested group that has significantly outperformed its regular season record and has plenty of playoff experience.
The Nuggets, who haven’t lost in Denver during the postseason and have looked like the NBA’s best team since the regular season ended, will have home-court advantage and enter the Finals as major favorites — BetOnline.ag has their odds to win the series at -405, with Miami listed as a +325 underdog.
Denver is also the popular pick among experts. John Hollinger of The Athletic laid out his reasoning for taking the Nuggets in six games, while a scout, a coach, and an executive who spoke anonymously to Sam Amick, Darnell Mayberry, and Josh Robbins of The Athletic all picked Denver in six too.
Over at ESPN, the Heat got a little more support, but 12 of 16 NBA reporters and analysts still chose the Nuggets to win the series, with only four – Bobby Marks, Israel Gutierrez, Nick DePaula, and Jorge Sedano – taking Miami.
The fact that the Nuggets are widely expected to come out on top will mean little to the Heat, who were considered even longer shots to beat Milwaukee or Boston. The Bucks were a -1200 betting favorite over Miami at the start of their series, while the Celtics were at -550.
With Game 1 set to tip off in a matter of hours, we want to get your predictions for this year’s NBA Finals. Will the Heat complete their improbable run and become the first No. 8 seed in league history to win a championship, or will Jokic lead the Nuggets to their first ever title?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Who will win the 2023 NBA Finals?
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Denver Nuggets in 6-7 games 42% (388)
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Denver Nuggets in 4-5 games 40% (368)
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Miami Heat in 6-7 games 16% (151)
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Miami Heat in 4-5 games 2% (22)
Total votes: 929
NCAA’s Draft Withdrawal Deadline For Early Entrants Has Passed
Now that we’ve flipped the calendar from May to June, the deadline for early entrants to withdraw their names from the 2023 NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility has passed. Prospects had until 11:59 pm Eastern time on May 31 to make their decisions and meet the NCAA’s deadline.
The NBA’s own draft withdrawal deadline isn’t until June 12, but college players typically make their decisions in advance of the NCAA’s deadline so that they’re able to return to school.
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Draft Dates, Deadlines To Watch]
We passed along many last-minute draft decisions on Wednesday, but a few slipped through the cracks or weren’t reported until this morning. Most notably, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, a projected first-round pick, opted to keep his name in the draft as expected, per Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch.
Washington State’s Justin Powell, TCU’s Damion Baugh, and Demetrius Mims of Gannon University will also remain in the 2023 draft, according to reports from Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, and Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (all Twitter links).
Here are some of the players who decided to opt out of the draft:
- Jalen Bridges, F, Baylor (junior) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Note: Bridges is weighing a return to Baylor or a move to Australia as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, per Givony.
- Jordan Brown, F/C, Louisiana (senior) (Twitter link via Chepkevich)
- Wesley Cardet Jr., G, Chicago State (sophomore) (Twitter link via Chepkevich)
- Bol Kuir, C, San Diego (freshman) (Twitter link via Chepkevich)
- Note: Kuir is weighing transfer options, per Chepkevich.
- Madison McCall, G, Lesley (MA) (senior) (Twitter link via Chepkevich)
- Emanuel Miller, F, TCU (senior) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Jelanie Morgan, G/F, Lesley (MA) (freshman) (Twitter link via Chepkevich)
- Anton Watson, F, Gonzaga (senior) (Twitter link)
Our early entrant tracker has been updated to reflect the latest reports and announcements. However, we’re still awaiting clarity on a number of players, and it’s worth stressing that our list is very unofficial.
The NBA won’t issue a full, final list of early entrants in the 2023 draft until after the June 12 withdrawal deadline. But last year the league provided an update following the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline, so we could get a similar announcement on Thursday or Friday.
By our count, at least 100 of the 242 players who initially declared for the draft as early entrants have pulled out.